I’ve had horrible writer’s block today.
I don’t suffer from it all that often, but when it sets in, it’s such a pain. I never have a problem starting the writing process. I always know how and where to start… Rather, my blocks usually set in about midway through my writing flow, and suddenly, and without warning, I realize I have no idea where I’m going! So I typically reread what I just wrote, hoping to find my pick-ups and ideas in the mix somewhere, but sometimes, that just doesn’t happen.
At other times, right in the middle of my flow, I can’t find the one bridge sentence I need inside of me to connect one thought to another thought. Or worse, I experience a collision of thoughts that make it impossible for me to remember the point of my post altogether!
That’s a terrible feeling.
When that particular kind of block happens, I usually stop writing, close my laptop, and then I shut my eyes for about ten minutes. If I’m lucky, once my mind relaxes into a bit of stillness, the exact sentence I was looking for floats into my mind, and suddenly, I’m back on track — and in some cases, I’m even more inspired than before!
But on days like today, none of my usual tricks could get me over the hump.
You should know that I’ve actually started six different posts today, and all of them started out well, but once I got into my flow, I hit a solid speed bump that I couldn’t overcome. (It’s so frustrating!) So I took a 30-minute power nap, ate a piece Swiss cheese, drank a glass of cold water, and even went into my laundry room to sniff some Tide Original. (Weird. I know. But it has worked once or twice in the past.)
But then my sister called while she was walking her dog. (Yay!) I love chatting with her — we always end up laughing a lot, and usually, we riff off of each other in such a way that when I hang up, I feel understood and happy. My sister is a total peach, and I’m glad we have each other! (I’m sure my mom must be smiling down on this post already!!)
So when I told my sister about my writer’s block, she giggled. Not because of my predicament, she quickly explained, but because of a word that jumped to her mind that perfectly described my situation. I’d never heard this word before, and I’ve never met the clearly adorable intern who works for my sister who coined it. Yet the second I heard it, the word gave me such a release!
The word is, Murp.
Apparently, when this young word-inventing genius has a hiccup in her life, she says, “murp,” and then moves on. From minor issues — like a wrong keystroke when she’s using some kind of architecture software my sister uses for her job — to larger issues like having a totally blindsiding exchange with an upset person on Facebook — this girl finds the best way to sum it all up and move on.
Murp.
Gosh, I just love this word! It’s like a verbal reset button, and it totally works!! I can’t thank this beautiful stranger enough for gifting this word to my sister, then to me, and now to all of my readers! In my life, I feel like I have dozens of “murp-worthy” moments in my day, yet without the right word to help me get over it, a tricky moment can turn into more than it should. I can whip up all kinds of drama into the most mundane events like…
An annoying text message with an unclear subtext I don’t think I like.
Murp.
A delay in some news I’ve been waiting to hear…
Murp.
Feeling disappointed in myself for getting sucked into a gossipy conversation.
Murp.
Struggling with writer’s block on a day when I was hoping to find a real sense of purpose.
Murp.
Just ending all of those issues with a quick “murp” is pretty darn fantastic, and I can’t believe how helpful the addition of this word to my vocabulary is turning out to be! For me, at least, the word is part comical, part cathartic, and somehow, it has helped me reduce most everything that’s been bugging me or stressing me out today into this simple sound that reminds me how little most of these things matter in the grand scheme of my life.
So thank you, terrific intern, for this most helpful term — I truly am your biggest fan! And I wish all of life’s problems could be sorted and resolved with the utterance of a single syllable word that sounds like something a bloated frog might say when he’s lying on his back.
